RWBY IV: Black Rose
by SecretlySilentEvil
Summary: 120 years ago, in a weapons test gone wrong, Remnant's moon broke. With these pieces of moon falling closer to the surface, Remnant has been flooded. Without Dust and many of the old technologies, how will humanity survive? How will the epics of the Black Rose flourish? [Faunus Ruby AU] [Collab with Archer1eye] [Discontinued]
1. A Rose is Born

**AN:SecretlySilentEvil: No there won't be sequels, no there won't be prequels. We just needed to get a reference out of the way.**

* * *

"The seas are calm today, eh Tai?" Graham Major, a rather tall, muscular, brown haired Lieutenant Junior Grade walks over to Taiyang aboard the GNS Valean Royal{A/N1}, both speechless as the blue waves of Remnant crash against the Titanoak{A/N2} hull, gently rocking the ship like a hammock.

Taiyang lifts his head from over the side of the ship to look back into the blue-eyed boy, "Yeah it is. Let's enjoy it while it lasts. The Crescent Rose was lost spotted in this area so any day now the fight begins lad." With that Tai pushes himself completely upright and walks over to the mast of the ship. "Hey Al, how's it fairing up there?"

A red haired boy about the same age as Graham - roughly 20 - appears from the crow's nest up top. "Nothing to see in all directions, be it bird, ship, or Grimm sir." Of course, as he says that, something smacks into the ship. On their side. Knocking them to the floor. "Still don't see anything, since I know you're going to ask, Lieutenant."

"Well damn boy, might as well get down here and get ready. Here whatever-it-is comes." Right on cue, a ship materializes embedded into the hull of the Royal. A white cloaked woman with silver eyes steps off the figurehead, and turns into a blur of flying metal. Once it settles, the figure has two chains in hand, both lying against the floor. At the end of each chain, a knife can barely be seen.

"Damned pirate hunters. We won't die that easily, you know." The harsh voice of the cloaked lithe woman freezes the entire naval crew in place. Then she removes her hood revealing shoulder length red hair barely concealing her silver eyes, wolf ears and mischievous grin. The Hurricane found them first. "Only you lot will die that easily." She then flicks her right hand, sending a knife into the chest of the nearest naval officer.

The rest of the navy spring into action at the same time the rest of the pirates do. Steel clashes against steel, sending sparks flying through the air. Summer activates her semblance, starting to create the hurricane her pirate name stems from. Nobody flinches, having been trained for this exact mission. Some of the officers try to catch her knives to stop the pirate's one manned assault, losing their hands in the process. Then a scythe materializes at each wounded one's throat.

"Bout time, Qrow, I hate being this flashy when I just want to kill. You know like sex gotta have it now or else."

The scythe weirder stays completely invisible leaving a disembodied voice to snort. "Only you, Summer, would get that tendency in this situation."

The sounds of battle draw out the last of the Royal's crew, only to meet an untimely end to an unseen chain-knife. As the last three of the crew remains, Qrow ties them up preparing for the final blows.

Summer struts up to the men, crouching down in front of Tai. She looks at him fingering the edge of her knife, and Tai refuses to look back. She flicks her now cut hand, braining the other two officers before standing back up from the bloody mess. Flicking her hands again, the knives come free. She raises the left one and holds it above Tai. Then she waits for him to flinch, but he never does.

"Why haven't you killed me yet?" Taiyang asks staring defiantly into the quicksilver eyes of his enemy.

"Did I ever tell you the definition of insanity?" She says seductively licking the blood from her right knife, before she kicks him, knocking him out cold. "He lives. Throw the others overboard, I don't want anybody suspecting there is a survivor. That would be wrong." She commands before heading back to the Crescent Rose.

* * *

Taiyang awakens to the sound of muffled partying and the smell of good rum. He quickly looks around, seeing a brig-like area without the bars to keep the prisoners in. Behind a black haired man is a ladder, presumably to the deck.

"Hey, there buddy, want a drink?" He can barely make out the slurred speak of the black haired man who looks an awful lot like a male version of his wife, Raven.

"Sure, I feel like I'm going to need it."

The man chuckles at Tai's remark. "Got that right, our Cap'n wants to play with you, keep you around, be her sex slave bluntly put. That woman's mad but damn does she control it well. Makes me shudder at the thought of what her kids would be like if she e'er got pregnant." His slurred speech seems to only intensify as he tries to talk clearly. "Oh yeah, name's Qrow, first mate of the 'Hurricane' Summer Rose."

"Taiyang Xiao Long, a pleasure. Also where did you get this rum? It's the best I've ever had."

"I dunno. We make it onboard. Comes out different each time if you ask me." Qrow then focuses his eyes on Tai actually taking into note the man before him. "Hey. Ain't you the dumbass married my baby sister 3 years back? Why'd you go for Raven, that woman will grab you by the balls, put 'em under a nutcracker and wait for you to squirm before she decides if she'll go through with it or not."

"I'd assume your captain is just as bad, but yes I am said dumbass. As her missing brother - whom I never thought was alive still - might I add, you may not know that she is far better when given power. She'd be a Damned good pirate if her heart weren't so deeply in the right place."

"I heard that Raven became a nurse, saving lives and shit." Qrow gulped down half the bottle after that statement. "And I'll bet ya that if you speak ill of Summer again you won't be breathing for some time. Sick woman'll find a way keep ya goin without air, don't ask how 'cause fuck if I know, I just know she's done it before. However she ain't as bad as she acts. You know gotta be scary out in the field and with you prisoners."

"Got that right Qrow. Now give me some space with Blondie, I wanna warm him up." Summer then descends the ladder behind Qrow.

"Speak of the devil and the devil appears, can smell ya too woman damn." Qrow gives Tai a mix of a sympathetic look and of envy as he ascends the ladder back to the hull of the ship.

"So. Welcome to my baby the Crescent Rose, and first things first, you are mine mister Xiao Long. It doesn't matter that you have a wife and kid at home, while aboard this ship you do as I please. Now then, Strip." The lecherous grin on Summer's face can barely rival the look of shame in Tai's as he obeys knowing he will die else wise.

Qrow pokes his head through the ceiling shouting with closed eyes. "Oh yeah, forgot to mention I won't hold the cap'n's horniness against you when it comes to keepin' faith."

* * *

Months went by and little changed. Tai preferred leaning over the side of the ship to relax and enjoy the sea, always hoping one day it would lead him home. Unfortunately today he was in charge of making the month's special alcoholic beverage. Not having any clue he had Qrow assist him, knowing that the perpetually drunk man was probably the best brewer aboard the ship.

"I can't believe - even as a prisoner - you can control the cap'n's decisions, or more importantly have me make the booze."

"Well a rose between two thorns I guess."

Qrow snorts at Tai's poor choice of words. "Guess so, but at the same time you notice she's been drinking more than usual."

"Yeah, her kinder side has been showing, makes me scared." Tai shivers recalling his morning with Summer, her cuddling up to him asking him to stay in an almost pleading voice.

"All things considered I would be too. Aaaaand done." With that Qrow finished the preparations on making the mash for fermentation "Now to let these puppies sit." Qrow looks at the mix of sugar molasses and yeast optimistically. "Wonder how this batch will go."

"Knowing whatever magic you do, it'll have us all unconscious in three sips."

"Got that right."

"I WANT YOU OFF THIS SHIP, NOW!" Summer storms into the brewery with a slightly distended stomach. "HERE IS HOW YOU GET HOME, NOW GO! QROW!" Summer takes a deep breath as she goes to address her old friend, "I know you will go with him anyways so just go _you_ have my blessing."

"Aye, aye Cap'n." Qrow nods respectively deciding better than to question this turn of events. Taiyang merely nods, hiding the fear in his mind and longing for home in his heart.

"And Qrow, a word." Summer yanks Qrow through the halls of the ship leading him to her office space and slamming the door behind her. "That bastard got me pregnant. I'm making you the godfather should anything happen."

Qrow resists the urge to laugh - if barely - having wondered when this would happen, always waiting for it. "Thanks for the warning Summer, now I guess I'm grabbing a boat and leaving then. Can I at least get a goodbye bottle at least."

Summer cracks a smile hiding her fear of the situation, and sadness at saying goodbye to the man who is more a brother than she would ever to admit to. "Sure farewell Qrow 'Death's Shadow' Branwen, it was a pleasure killing with you." She hugs him tightly, crying a little, and Qrow returns the gesture, savoring the embrace of the one woman he truly loves.

"And it was a pleasure sailing with you, Summer 'Hurricane' Rose. May you and your child live long and prosper."

* * *

Raven was growing tired of waiting, it had been a year since her husband had left her and their newborn baby - Yang - to go on that failed pirate hunt. The Navies of all four fleets{A/N3} had thought that allying together would be enough to put down the pirate ships that sailed about attacking whomever they crossed paths with. The only ships known to withstand the combined might of the Navies were the Crescent Rose, the White Fang, and the Roosterteeth.

While Raven was lost in thought a rough knock came to her door. And with it a voice she long ago forgot, "So this is where you and my baby sister decided to shack up, not bad Xiao Long, not bad at all."

The laughter that rings out makes Raven's heart skip a beat in hope. She sprints the last two steps to the door, swinging it wide to confirm her hopes. Both her husband and brother were standing there, Tai looking so glad to be home it broke her heart wondering what he must have endured to even still be alive right now. Qrow looked far better off, if not completely wasted. "I think a toast is need," Qrow lifts an aged bottle of what looks to be Rum. "Cheers to family reunions and surviving a year aboard the Crescent Rose."

* * *

 **AN:**

 **1: GNS Valean Royal. GNS means Governed Naval Ship, Valean is the fleet it belonged to, Royal is the actual ship's name.**

 **2: Titanoak. A material that is a cross between wood and metal. It doesn't rot or rust, making it the perfect material for ship craft in a world where the ships can't dock at land.**

 **3: The four fleets. Vale. Vacuo. Mistral. Atlas. Technically there are 6 fleets if you count Menagerie and Independence, but both of those lack any true power. A fleet is defined by how many ships are connected. One ship is a ship, two to nine ships is a vessel, and any number above ten is a fleet.**

 **SecretlySilentEvil: Hope you all enjoyed that. This is a little collaboration between me and Archer1eye. He's been an awesome guy to talk with, go check out his profile and stories.**

 **This started as Archer trying to convince me to get back into writing Force Echoes. What actually started the note writing writing process was a message I sent to him that simply read: "I feel like making the waterworld AU be a dark Ruby fic" and next thing I knew he wrote a scene of Ruby seducing Weiss.**

 **Archer1eye: You are welcome, and just wait folks that scene is Vytal (I'm sorry had a pun war before writing this) to the story. Also there will be no lemons, you have an imagination for that… That and we lack the imagination to write such a scene.**

 **SecretlySilentEvil: *facepalm before rapidly moving on* You'd think - in 11.9k (counting X-overs) RWBY fics - that someone would have had this idea already… But nope, I was the first. There are a lot of water-based fics, but no waterworld AUs… Through a quick FFnet search, we found 20 entries with the word water in the description, 7 with flood, 14 with sea, 12 with ocean, 6 with drowned, 0 with drowned planet, 11 with Admiral, 24 with pirate, 5 with navy, 4 with fleet, 90% of them look abandoned, and none of their descriptions make me think "Waterworld". Also, these statistics are probably much less, considering FFnet does words similar, instead of complete match and some stories overlapped. (We didn't count crossovers with anime like Gargantua.)**

 **Another quick note, if anyone asks, we will try to explain this world - without spoilers of course - and help you understand our madness.**

 **Anyways... Some of the most vigilant of you out there may have noticed a few-**

 **Archer1eye: Lot!**

 **SecretlySilentEvil: -references to anime, movies, and video games. I challenge you guys to find them. The first person to catch 'em all (- There's a free one) gets a shout out at the end of the next chapter. Some of them are obscure, some are a bit in your face. (We had to make a list in google docs to keep track of them)**

 **Archer1eye: Look up.**

 **SecretlySilentEvil: *sigh* How many people do you think are gonna know what you mean.**

 **Archer1eye: I'll wager an arm and a leg at least those who already got it caught it.**

 **SecretlySilentEvil: Alright… Also, if you guys decide to look at my profile, I can only warn you not to read The Watchmaker. That crashed and burned, and was a horrible thing.**

 **If any of you guys have questions about this world, go ahead and ask, we'll try to answer to the best of our ability.**

 **Both: Follow and Favorite if you liked it, and Review even if you didn't. We like feedback, it helps. So long and thanks for all the fish!**

 **Archer1eye: That should've been Blake's line…**

 **SecretlySilentEvil: How did that even record? I turned it off!**

 **Archer1eye: ...I broke it… Again.**

 **SecretlySilentEvil: F*cking turn off! *smacks computer***

 **Archer1eye: Working on-**

 ***Cuts to static, with maniacal laughter that can be heard***


	2. A Black Rose Raids

"Yang! Quit playing with fire!" Glynda Goodwitch - Vice Admiral of the Vale Fleet - scolds her newest recruit for her most recent act of laziness. Yang Xiao Long had only been in the Navy for two years, but already has a reputation with the higher-ups as a pyromaniac by age 20. "How do you even know how to make lilac fires? What chemicals are even needed for that?"

Yang pops a mischievous smile, "One, My dru- I mean perpetually drunk uncle… Not druncle… told me how. You should know him well Vice Admiral, he is your spymaster, after all. And two, potassium and methanol."

"Goddammit Qrow..." Glynda sighs in frustration as she reaches for a glass of water-

"Wait, NO! Don't do that-!" Thunk. Splash.

"The hell was that?!" Both women scream as the GNS Royal tips nearly ninety degrees. Water pours through the windows, covering the floor in an inch of water as the ship realigns itself, and lighting the whole room on fire.

Glynda quickly flicks her wrist, launching both women through the door, before promptly slamming it shut. "God dammit, Xiao Long. No more chemicals for you. Now, go find out why our ship went sideways for me, please!"

Yang nods her head in quick acknowledgement, before running up to the main deck of the ship, only to see it completely taken over by a red cloaked figure. "Ooooh yeah baby! That was fun!" The cloaked figure, now clearly a girl from her squeaky voice, starts pumping her fist as she inspects all the Naval crew members she somehow managed to tie up completely to the main mast.

"Now where are the others on board, hmmmm?" The girl gets awkwardly close to her prisoners, before bending over into their faces, showing off a rather well sized chest if not a bit smaller than Yang's. She starts fiddling with a scimitar on her belt, toying with an odd latch at the pommel.

"Ooooh, I smell prey!" Yang can barely make out a face as the girl appears right above her, staring down into Yang's wide horror filled eyes, who had yet to fully exit the hull. "And a cutie, too." From this angle Yang gets a much clearer view of her apparent captor.

The pirate has black hair with red highlights, with an eyemask over her right eye with a modified rose emblem emblazoned on it, and a red hood over her head. The rest of her cloak extends down to her knees, currently worn like a cape, with an emblem similar to her eyemask's covering the back of it. She wears a loose black shirt of some sort, tucked into her also-loose black pants. Restricting looseness of the right sleeve is a fingerless gauntlet made of black and red leather, that extends from her wrist to a bit over halfway up the forearm. On her shoulders are a pair of silver epaulettes. Hooked to her lower back is a few steel cylinders, that all seem to be connected together.

'Oh my god, it's the Crescent Rose's new captain, the Black Rose...' This girl had made a name for herself within her four years of piracy. Everybody but Qrow seemed to rejoice in the Navy when they had heard the old captain had been killed by another pirate crew, but none expected her to have hidden a daughter. A daughter who had been raised from the crib for the life she lived and relished living. Without her mother to leash her, nobody was safe from this dread pirate's wrath.

"So, hot stuff. Where's the captain?" Yang can't get past the squeak that is this menace's voice, it is such a contradiction to the stories she has heard of this girl's slaughter fests, even if that high voice is filled with malice and authority.

"Yang, out of the way." Glynda flicks her wrist, launching Yang out onto the deck as she herself ascends the ladder to stare down the threat to her ship. "I'm right here, Pirate. What do you want from me?"

"Ooooh, the captain is also a hottie, this is going to be a good day, I can tell." Ruby's face is alight with amusement, but she doesn't lower her guard to laugh at her victim's situation. "I need you to make sure nothing seems wrong, with this ship for a few days, I'm here for some personal Intel, and you ladies are going to help."

* * *

The Crescent Rose never showed itself, but somehow over the next two days, four more pirates got aboard the GNS Royal, as it was helping to escort an Atlesian ship through Vale waters. Ruby had untied some of her victims - all women or chefs it seemed - and decided she would keep an eye on the vessel from the helm. Nobody knew the girl could sail a ship, and were quite surprised at how she made it look like nothing went wrong after the ship nearly capsized on her first day.

A bit after nearly being capsized, the Valean ship successfully convinced the convoy nothing was wrong on board and that the waters were just weird this time of year, and joined it as the left flank, of the four ships that were already there.

"Captain, I got the information we needed. The girl is on board the middle ship - the GNS Atlesian Tundra - and to boot, she appears to spend most of her time out on deck." Blake Belladonna - Ruby's second spymaster, who appears to materialize in and out of existence at will - reported knowing, that this mission would start a chain of events that only her captain intended to control. Ruby's planning was always to be feared in its length.

"Good. Then we leave tonight." Ruby cracks a grin, and seeing a certain lazy blonde not far off, decides to mess around. "Hear that Yang, no more of me after tonight!"

"Oh, so you intend to spare us or something? I thought you guys only killed."

"You should know better blondie, our dad was spared, after all."

"Whaaaa…." Ruby winks at the confused girl before deciding to begin her assault.

"Velvet, Octavia, you're with me, Gwen, Blake, you two go back to the Rose, tell the crew we're ready." The cat Faunus nods, before the cloaked pirate captain begins soaring through the air in a flurry of rose petals.

"The hell do yo… She mean by that." Blake merely smiles at the poor girl, and decides to remain quiet as she cuts the ropes of the rest of the crew. Ruby's war will begin soon.

* * *

Weiss was getting more and more nervous, only a month from now, she would be getting married to Neptune Vasilias, son of Admiral Saturn Vasilias - the man in charge of the Mistral Fleet. The marriage was to ensure peace would last between the two kingdoms in the coming years. It also allowed her father - Rein Schnee - having power within two fleets, and if Weiss was honest with herself, she hated every little bit of it.

The heiress had gotten in the habit of pacing the deck of the ship, noting how in sync the crew was as they went about their duties, and how insignificant she was. It was painfully clear how chauvinistic Atlas was, as she was the only female aboard the ship, and on top of that she was only allowed a rapier. It barely functioned as a weapon, mostly used to show status. Weiss hated the fakeness the sword resembled.

As if to interrupt her musings, she catches a red blur appear off the port side of the ship coming from the helm of the GNS Valean Royal, and another two heading north. Near the aft of the Royal, she can see two other silhouettes board the ship she's on, and the one behind.

As soon as those two silhouettes landed on the flag ship, the crew panicked. The girls - from the look of them - drew weapons, and started fighting, with a clear advantage towards the pirates. Weiss turns back to where the red blur ran off, only to see the lead ship completely sideways, and a red-cloaked figure fighting off a few Atlesian naval men. Looking to the north, she can see the start of a ship in the distance. Grabbing a nearby spyglass, she looks through it only to see the modified rose of the Crescent Rose.

She drops the spyglass and runs towards the helm. As soon as she arrives, the captain - James Ironwood - takes immediate notice. Whatever he was about to say to her was cut off, as her yell pierced his ears.

"It's the Crescent Rose!" The outburst startles James, but he doesn't fully believe the girl in front of him.

"Come Weiss," is all he says before taking her to the captain's quarters, and shoves her in. Probably for safety. She scrambles back up to the door, and puts her ear against it, listening as the fight raged around her.

* * *

Parry; Swing; Jab with Scimitar; Presence behind, Use wrist blade.

It was funny, Ruby thought, how easily these people were to fight. Every move she made, nearly created a pattern with how predictable the fight was. Every once and awhile, someone would get clever, and use a ranged weapon, or some other clever technique, but nothing was ever a challenge. With a final slice of a man's throat, both the Glacier and Dove were taken out, and she can hear the Shard go down. Thanks to Octavia.

As she went to meet up with Velvet and Octavia aboard the main ship, she noticed the two having the full attention of every occupant, so Ruby decided to use her stealth to find the captain in the chaos.

It isn't hard to find him, dressed up like there is a dance coming up amongst the rag-tag group of would be navy men, if it weren't for all the blood they were losing. Ruby saunters over to the man with the grace of a professional dancer, never having her gaze leave his, even as some men back off their old targets to attack her.

Ruby's wolf ears twitch under her hood at the sound of their approach, and she lazily deflects their blades off her aura, as she cuts open their throats with her scimitar, still never moving her gaze off her target. "Care to tell me where the heiress is, dumbass?" Ruby lays a thick drawl, as if to mock his intelligence, as the man unsheathes a sword to attack her, his face a firm scowl refusing to speak. "Thought not." Ruby sighs before howling, an ear ripping howl to signify the hunt as she lays into him with her sword.

Not intending to kill the man, she disarms him then traps him within seconds, allowing a rage to engulf her at seeing his condescending look, even as he lays defeated. "What makes you so~ great, that you can look at me like that? You. Lost. And you are at my mercy." Ruby decides then to pop out a knife and hold it high as she watches everyone else stop to see what she has planned.

"Nothing as low as a Faunus can truly beat any man of Atlas, and even less so if they are a woman." Ironwood spits at Ruby, daring her to strike with his eyes.

"Bad choice there, James." He hears a cold female voice say from behind him. As he goes to see who it is, he feels a cold blade against his inner thigh and then a warmth. He doesn't remain conscious long enough to even feel the pain of Ruby cutting into him.

"Might as well be a woman now, dumbass!" Ruby spits on the mess she made, as she turns towards the captain's quarters, having smelled her prey inside it the moment she boarded the ship. "Okay, I had my fun, let's get her and leave."

Ruby walks up to the door and knocks softly. "Might want to move away from the door princess, don't want to damage that cute little-"

Weiss storms out of the room face flushed red, rapier instantly in Ruby's face. Ruby isn't even fazed, the blade is clearly meant to be decorative, "How dare you call me 'little'!"

"Oooooooh, spunky, me likey." Weiss' face becomes an even deeper shade of red, as the rapier begins to shake in her outraged hand. "Come on we are kidnapping you, after all sweetheart." Ruby winks at Weiss before sweeping the white haired girl off her feet, and sprinting over the ship's starboard side, landing roughly on the water.

Ruby cracks Weiss a lecherous grin, "try not to soak your dress, m'lady, I might get a free view."

Weiss can't even get the air to breath as Ruby sprints across the waters, leaving rose petals in her wake, towards the rear of the Crescent Rose. The ship begins to creak as part of the aft falls into the water, making it look like a drawbridge. Ruby walks onto the newly formed ramp, boarding her ship. "Now the actual question work… or play first?"

Weiss - a complete mess by this point - glares daggers at Ruby, "how about you let me free! What good does kidnapping me do for pirates anyway?"

"Puts a plan of mine into action, couldn't have done it without your help. Thanks." The Crimson pirate says as she lets Weiss down.

It is now that Weiss notices that they are in the Captain's Quarters. "Wh-why did you take me here… dressed like this?" Weiss emphasizes her point by gesturing to her drenched figure, the white clothing nearly see through at this point.

"Why, princess, you appear to be wet. Let me make it worse." Ruby's mischievous grin spreads at the flush on Weiss' cheeks, noting how the heiress hesitates - or rather lack of hesitation - to respond.

"No! We shall do no such thing!" As Weiss continues to scream her defiance Ruby wraps her arms around Weiss, warming the frail girl up.

"You know you will enjoy it. Besides nobody outside this room needs to know. It is soundproofed after all." Ruby leans in even closer, allowing herself to be pressed flush against her prisoner. "Nobody will even know, not even that sack of womanizing filth you are meant to marry."

Weiss feels herself growing weak in Ruby's arms, fearing what happens if she says no, but also desiring to say yes, knowing it'll feel so much less painful than how others described their first times.

In the end, Weiss' curiosity wins. "Just be gentle, okay?"

Ruby's hands drop down to catch the falling girl. "Of course." She then gives Weiss a quick peck on the cheek, before undressing her of the freezing garments. "But not tonight, I know you aren't truly ready." Ruby then carries her victim to her bed before getting clean clothes for the girl to wear. "I don't want to risk you getting sick after all, that'd just be wrong."

Weiss manages a laugh through her over stressed nerves. 'Oh god, this is weird. I thought a pirate would be a bit more… aggressive...'

"Stay here, get warm. I'll be back after sundown." Ruby blows Weiss a kiss before heading out to check on the damages to her crew after their successful raid.

* * *

 **AN: SecretlySilentEvil: Hey remember the way we planned on writing that chapter?**

 **Archer1eye: which one?... Oh yeah this one. We totally threw that out the window huh?**

 **SecretlySilentEvil: Quit with your goddamn behind-the-scenes they aren't supposed to know about that stuff.**

 **Archer1eye: THEN WHY'D YOU BRING IT UP?!**

 **SecretlySilentEvil: I DON'T KNOW! SHUT UP!**

 **ANYWAYS! With a lack of skype calls between the two of us in the making of this chapter, his perspective was practically inverted from mine.**

 **Archer1eye: No, quite literally inverted you went right when I went left.**

 **Both: That was fun...**

 **Archer1eye: … And pure chaos.**

 **SecretlySilentEvil: You know, we should probably stop this here. Last AN was nearly half as long as the entire chapter.**

 **I think…**

 ***Shouts into the hallway behind him* SOMEONE CHECK THAT!**

 **(Turns out it was only 638 words compared to 1973 words. 30% of last chapter, was indeed an AN)**

 **Both: Follow if you liked this, Favorite if you really liked this, and Review regardless if you did or did not enjoy this.**


	3. The Archive

_**Atlas Fleet: One week later**_

"I see you've returned James, and early. Why would that be?" Rein Schnee - Fleet Admiral of Atlas - coldly stares down at his second in command., disappointment plain on his face.

"Sir, the pirate ship Crescent Rose was spotted by your daughter right as the captain of the ship attacked. It was too fast for me and they kidnapped her." James Ironwood keeps his head down to avoid eye contact as he gives his report on the attack.

Ironwood's stance stiffens as he hears the Fleet Admiral stand from his seat and approach him. "James, while I should have you executed for that as is, I won't. Instead I'm going to teach you something. A secret long ago hidden, one that holds the power to change the world around us, and one the pirates have no idea exists."

Rein lifts James' face to stare him in the eyes. "For it is in dominance we achieve superiority, through this we become rulers of all before us. Infinite in strength and unbound by emotion, I release your soul."

A white glow radiates off of his hand as he awakens James' aura, before it changes to the rich brown of the wood encasing them. "I have unlocked your aura, now you are superior to those roguish upstarts."

* * *

 _ **Valean Fleet: Same Day**_

Calm, blue waters. Cloudless, blue skies. Plenty of wind. A glowing purple ship coming in for docking-

' _Wait, glowing purple…? Reminds me of… Oh no…'_ Qrow starts laughing. He taught that trick with fire to Yang, and she managed to light the entire ship.

' _This'll be fun,'_ The spymaster starts walking down to where the small escort ship will be docking, which looks to be on the other side of the residential float his favorite bar is located on. Upon arrival, he saw exactly what he thought he'd see. The lit ship being towed by a second, and the crew of the first on board the second. The only problem, the crowd on the upper levels of the second was _much_ smaller than he thought it would be.

The purple glowing ship takes priority, however. That fire needs to be put out, before it gets past the Titanoak's natural fire-proofing. Unsheathing his scythe, he sets to work, even though he won't be able to do much until the wind specialists show. Spinning as fast as he can, he starts sucking in bits of the flame, and thusly putting it out. At least this way, at least some of the original Titanoak will be saved.

About three minutes later, the fire was put out completely, only the edges of the wood charred. After collapsing his scythe, he sees a familiar mess of blonde hair off in the distance. "Helloooooo there Al Qrowpone! I was having fun there, ya know?"

Qrow facepalms as best he can at his niece's choice in nickname - one that Tai encouraged growing up. "Hey Blondie, what 'appened? Where'd the ship'n'shit go?"

As Yang opens her mouth to reply, Qrow screams loud enough for the entire fleet to hear, "The other Blondie, Blondie!"

"RUDE!"

"Shut up Qrow…" Glynda deadpans from behind him, making him turn around.

"Ahh, ther'ya are."

"Go home, you're drunk."

Qrow wraps Glynda in a one armed hug on her side, waving the flask of homemade rum under his superior's nose. "And you could be too~" His face suddenly becomes serious - or as best he can attempt, "So seriously what happened out there?"

"DAMNED PIRATES THAT'S WHAT! THEY HELD THE ROYAL HOSTAGE TO SET UP BASE, THEN THEY ATTACKED THE ENTIRE ENTOURAGE BEFORE THEIR CAPTAIN KIDNAPPED THE HEIRESS WE WERE SUPPOSED TO BE GUARDING!" Yang screams descending the gangplank of the now docked Royal.

Yang's outburst makes Qrow smile faintly. "And who dare I ask was this fetching young pirate captain that so effortlessly took out five military grade ships with only three girls aiding her?"

"And just how - Qrow - do you know all this?" Glynda's ice cold glare only managed to make Qrow's grin all the more smug.

"Easy," Qrow leans in to whisper loudly, acting as if it were an important secret. "I got birds everywhere." Qrow uses his other hand to gesture in a broad arc.

"IT WAS THAT DAMNED FUCKING BLACK ROSE FUCK BITCH FUCKER!"

"Now, now, Yang behave yourself. She is certainly no fucker, especially of the bitches. That girl is a real gem in these'ere seas." Qrow's drunken, patronizing tone only causes Yang's eyes to burn a deep red.

"WHY ARE YOU DEFENDING THAT BITCH! SHE DAMN NEAR KILLED US! GOD KNOWS WHAT SHE IS UP TO ON THAT ACCURSED SHIP OF HER'S!"

Qrow decides to take his cue - knowing any further comments will spill his secret - and spin on his heel and leave. "Another time Yang, maybe I'll tell you then."

"This is why I don't trust you at all Ms. Xiao Long." Glynda says passively to Yang, who is only growing more pissed by the second, but can't seem to vent her anger.

"THAT DRUNK FUCKER!" Yang punches the ship behind her so hard her knuckles bleed and the ship starts to rock uncontrollably.

The display causes Glynda to inwardly smile. ' _That girl, if she could just harness that temper, I'd gladly unlock her aura. No doubt she could have stopped that attack. I'll have to discuss this with Ozpin.'_ Outwardly Glynda merely glares. "Control yourself Ms. Xiao Long, that temper of yours will get you fired if those fires don't."

* * *

 _ **Crescent Rose: Still the Same Day, Folks**_

Calm, blue waters. Cloudless, _blue_ skies. Bulky _blue_ stained barrels. "Mother f-!" Weiss clasping her hands around her mouth, surprised by her own cursing after stubbing her toe on the aforementioned blue barrels.

"We'll get you swearin' like a pirate in no time, Princess!" Ruby's cheerful chirp from the helm only infuriates the heiress more.

"I will NOT stoop that low. Even for you Rose."

Ruby smirks - knowing she has already won the battle on converting the Schnee to her crew - "That's Captain Rose to you, Schnee."

It was surprising how quickly Weiss adjusted to crewlife. Probably had something to do with Ruby telling her to do as she wished, as long as she wasn't in the way. Now, Weiss won't stop working, except for around meals and night time. It was like she had never experienced actual freedom before. Actually, she probably hadn't.

"Captain!" Blake walks over, a crow nested on her shoulder with a message tied to its left talon. "A message for you."

"Thank you," Ruby unwraps the message - feeding the crow some scraps she keeps in a nearby pouch for the birds - and reads silently.

 _Cap'n,_

 _Vale just came back, something 'bout you holding them hostage as you captured the Schnee. Your 'friend' Blondie here seems to want a go at'cha after that incident. Other news, Atlas is preparing another hunt soon, don't know when but soon. Stay safe, and don't be your mother, don't wanna lose another Rose to the seas._

 _The Bird, C_

Ruby smiles broadly. "Hey guys, it's working!"

The whole crew cheers slightly, still unsure themselves what _it_ is, but only Weiss is bold enough to ask. "Just what exactly is working?" The heiress asks with an authoritative swish to her body.

"You will see, soon enough... Maybe." Ruby grins mischievously, wanting to try and pull all the emotions out of this once frozen girl.

"Ahem." Blake clears her throat, sick of Ruby's endless flirting with the prisoner. "Outside of the message Captain, we need to do the monthly dust collection today, get ready."

Ruby grins. Once a month the crew gathers below decks to scrape all the grey - Grimm repellent - dust from the hull of the ship. The material holds the beasts at bay, but as a smaller ship the Crescent Rose has to harvest it to use for disasters instead of a shield that sometimes works.

Ruby steps down from the helm grabbing a grey crystal about the size of her hand and gives it to Weiss with a wink. "You're gonna love this one Princess. Hold that for me, for your own protection of course."

Ruby's easygoing grin makes Weiss more lost, having not seen a dust collection happen before, let alone dust itself. "U-um… Okay...?"

Ruby pats the girl on the shoulder as she uses her free hand to draw her scimitar. "Trust me, it's about to get wild."

"Should I be worried…?"

"Probably…" With that, she flips up her hood, and clicks her scimitar onto one of those cylindrical contraptions on her back. Pulling the scimitar hilt forward, the contraptions reveal to instead be one single contraption. Now free from her back, it collapses outward, as if spring loaded, forming a pole.

"Oh. It's a scythe." ' _That's why her scimitar didn't look properly made.'_

"Damn right it's a scythe! And that there," Ruby points at a black smear in the water. "Is a Xaoc school."

"A what?" Ruby grins at the lost girl behind her.

"Piranha-like Grimm. Young ones, judging by how quickly they smelled us. During a collection, our presence becomes known to the Grimm, and from there, depending on our closeness to a group. We may or may not have a fight on our hands." With that Ruby flares her aura cloaking herself in red to all who can see, and shouts with a fierce whoop of joy, "OK LADIES, A FIGHT'S A COMIN!'"

The Xaoc looked like monstrous piranhas as they leapt out of the waters, directed at the Crimson figure. Weiss looked on in horror as at least ten of the creatures closed the gap on Ruby, who only stood there cocky grin in place. "Batter up!"

With that Ruby spun on her heel, twirling like a dancer in a play. Each step was a practiced and precise movement. Never missing a beat she hit each one of the beasts square on, sending them flying back out to sea.

' _That seems inhuman. How did she do that? Then again, it seems father secluded me more than I thought. No matter what I tried to learn, I was always restricted from it.'_ Weiss let out a sigh and not for the first time thinking on how being kidnapped was a blessing in disguise. ' _If only Ruby would quit flirting with me, then I'd willingly stay… Then again, it'd really hit father bad if I were involved with a pirate captain, especially_ _ **this**_ _captain.'_ Weiss grins just picturing the cold expression of Rein Schnee trying to process the reports of his daughter simply walking out with a pirate… ' _Yeah… I could live like that easily. And this time I'd get a say in it too.'_

"Weiss! duck!" Weiss had been so lost in thought she missed Ruby twist her scythe in place, flicking a Xaoc almost directly at her.

' _Oh, you've got to be kidding me!'_ Mirroring a move she saw Ruby do days before in a spar, she leaned back letting it sail overhead while giving her a close-up inspection of the creature. It had four fins on bottom that looked like at one point could have been legs, but years of swimming changed them. The slim, yet simultaneously plump body was covered in pitch black scales that looked rough enough to be used as sandpaper. The face itself was interesting to say the least. A triangular bone plate covered the location where the eyes would be - probably another adjustment out at sea if water bothered this creature's eyes originally - and several slits running the cheeks, appearing to be gills. The nose was a vacuous hole almost the size of the heiress' fist, but bone drooped in front of it to keep most objects from entering. Then there was the mouth, rows upon rows of canine teeth were open for the heiress to see as it flew at her.

' _If only I had a wea- wait maybe I do!'_ Weiss looked at the crystal in her hand, wondering what it was meant to do as the beast nearly finished passing her, all six feet of it.

Suddenly Weiss heard Ruby hit the floor. As she watched the heiress, distracted from the fight, a Xaoc managed to tackle her, scraping against her clothes, and leaving a crude brush burn but nothing more.

The sound vibrated through Weiss, sending a freezing yet invigorating sensation through her. It started at her heart before spreading - like flowing water - throughout her, leaving a white glow where it flowed. The glow grew before it touched the crystal in the heiress' hand, which evaporated into grey mist upon contact. The mist didn't stop at just Weiss, it started to spread, clinging to the titanoak like the barnacle it was described as, before finding even more crystals and resetting the process. In only thirty seconds, the entire ship had become a fuzzy grey block on the sea.

The airborne Grimm that touched the vapor bounced off like it was a rubber casing, while the ones in the sea merely turned around, suddenly losing interest. Ruby gave a sigh of relief before turning on Weiss in agitation. "Do you know what you just did?! That was dust! You know, nature's wrath and all that shit!" Taking a deep breath Ruby pulls herself together as she asses the situation better. "Fortunately for you, that was a nonvola-"

Suddenly the ship is racked with a violent explosion, grey light cascading across the seas. "I swear to Oum! You have no clue do you-" Ruby stops her renewed rant as she sees the now very pale girl collapse in a motionless heap at her feet. "Well shit, guess this'll have to wait…"

As Ruby scoops up the limp, but surprisingly still breathing body of Weiss, Blake and Velvet appear. "Captain, the Grimm have left, but we lost half our salvaged dust in the process. What happened?"

"Weiss, Weiss happened! I gave her a grey dust crystal, and she activated it prematurely! I doubt she even knew what dust was. Hell, what I gave her was supposed to be nonvolatile! How the hell did she blow it up?!" Ruby looked slightly flustered at the limp body as she affectionately brushed a few strands of stray hair out of Weiss' face.

"Umm… Captain… I thought you knew she didn't even have an active aura…" Velvet speaks up.

"WHAT?!" Then she looks at Weiss' sleeping face, a hint of concern ghosting over her own. "That… Explains so much, actually…"

"Captain?" Both Faunus ask, not used to Ruby being so soft to her victims. Velvet's face is a mask of worry to hide the fear as she recalls stories of Summer's more _active_ prisoners, and not wanting Ruby to do the same things.

"Nothing. Velvet check our supplies again and see if we are near any underwater dust deposits. Blake send that crow back to its owner with a message. Tell him that our guest has some untapped talents. He will understand."

"Yes captain. Anything else he should know?" Blake pulls out a pad, beginning to write up the message to their outside contact.

"Yeah, have him tell Blondie I said hi." Ruby cracks a mischievous grin, picturing Yang's face at being contacted by her former captor.

Blake looks confused but notes it for the messenger bird. "Very well, I'll send it at once captain."

"Good, now let's get back to work. I want things able to run without me when our guest wakes up."

* * *

 _ **Vale Fleet, Fleet Admiral's Office: about two hours later, but still same day nonetheless.**_

"So Qrow, why is it we shouldn't be alarmed at this most recent pirate attack?" Qrow watches Ozpin rise from behind his desk, somewhat frustrated at his spymaster's usually intoxicated state on the job.

"Easy Sir, the Cap'n knows what she wants, and already 'as it, so seeing as she has yet to play a single card in her hand, we need to wait. However, I would advise you to call in your navy and give the Crescent Rose safe passage should she be spotted by a Valean Sailor."

Ozpin slumps his shoulders as he releases a heavy sigh. "And why should I treat this so lightly Qrow? You seem too calm about this. Should I be concerned about treason from you officer?"

Qrow takes a deep swig from the bottle held at his side before responding with a laugh. "Me? Commit treason! That's a good one Ozzy." Qrow suddenly becomes deathly serious, any traces of intoxication gone from his mannerisms. "It's not worth it to betray you all, I have family under your roof and I refuse to betray family. That extends to that ship! So I ask, knowing fully well what that girl has planned, that you don't attack them. It's not worth it to either side, and what she wants can be done peacefully. It coincides with your dream of equality. She has a way with people, and can make them see both faunus and women equally, like it used to be. So please, let her be if ever we encounter her again."

Taken aback by the sudden change in behavior, the fleet admiral is left speechless at his trusted advisor, who seldom gets this serious. "Very well, Qrow I'll trust your call here." Ozpin then prepares the message to be broadcasted through the scrolls - a salvaged messaging system from the past that miraculously still functions.

Qrow turns to leave the ornately designed office. "That's all I ask." The veteran walks away, a prayer to his lips to protect his adopted daughter.

* * *

 _ **Crescent Rose, Captain's Quarters: later that night**_

Weiss came to, the candle lit Captain's quarters she had grown used to sleeping in, cuddled against the pirate captain. However this time, Ruby wasn't behind her, holding her in a protective embrace, but rather she sat in front of the heiress, silver eyes full of concern.

As Weiss attempts to sit up, she starts to hurl into a bucket that seemed positioned perfectly for the girl. "Usually unlocking one's aura isn't this bad, but at the same time overusing it tends to lead to your current state."

"My what?" Weiss tries to speak through her hoarse throat, but the resulting croak causes her to chug the nearest drink, only to spit the rum back out as the alcohol stings her raw insides.

"Here, some water might be better, besides I don't want you wasting more of my Godfather's special batch. That stuff could disinfect an amputation with two drops, it's so strong."

Weiss is too grateful for the cool water pouring down her throat, easing the sore knot that had formed from the dryness to even laugh at the joke about the potent concoction. "What are you talking about? What happened? Why did I glow white like that? Was that the aura you keep talki-"

"Easy Weiss. Don't push yourself too hard. What happened was simple, you unlocked your aura and used the dust crystal to ward off the Grimm."

"What does that even mean though? I don't understand any of what you are saying. It is English isn't it?"

Weiss' complete loss leaves Ruby slowly getting frustrated. Not at the heiress but instead at those who hid this power in order to keep themselves in power. "I'd explain Weiss, but it sounds like you were taught nothing." Ruby spits out the last word with as much acidity that Weiss was surprised a hole didn't appear in the floorboards. "It'll be easier if you just read up on it, but unfortunately, this is the only record of what I'm talking about."

Ruby pulls out an ancient book, dried cracked leather holding parchment that long ago turned yellow and crisp. The sight of the tome brought a childish grin to Weiss. A written source of that age had to hold the secrets of the universe. "What is that?"

"It's my ancestors notebook, it predates the flood and is only one of a collection of four. Each one starts where the last ended. They are similar to Captain's logs of this boat, although considering their age, I've begun to refer to them as the Archive. Every captain ever to lead this vessel has written their life's story as it happened in these books. My own included. I keep them stored together under my desk, that upside down canoe over there." Ruby points to the desk Weiss never took a close enough look at to notice that it was indeed a canoe. "That desk also holds a piece of this ongoing history. I'll leave you to them, so long as you only read them within this room. The crew knows of these books, but only Blake has ever read anything inside them, and even that was a brief piece of it. Enjoy Weiss."

Ruby pecks Weiss on the cheek, before laying down and curling into the girl for sleep.

' _She stayed up just to tell me this? I'm missing something here, I have to be. Might as well start with her story first. Why did she even let me see this to begin with?'_ The confused heiress dove headfirst into the books, determined to discover the secrets of Remnant, and these pirates who embraced it.

* * *

Ruby awoke the next day to Weiss leaning over the desk, notepad and pencil in hand and the Archive on desk, completely lost in her studies. ' _Seems I found your heart Weissy.'_

* * *

 **AN: SecretlySilentEvil: When we ask for reviews, we'd like you to make an account. That way, if there is ever another miscommunication like that guest again, we can reply, and tell you that you're wrong and why. Ruby's not a Mary Sue, nor a "shit head".**

 **Archer1eye: To make it simple, Ruby was raised by crazy people, that's what the world knows of her, so her work face is crazy while her normal expressions and behavior is Ruby-like, with a bit of a dark, corrupted twist. As for Mary Sue, you can see she isn't overpowered for no reason? Nobody has an aura anymore, it's a secret as is the twenty-eight pages of notes for this story… Yeah that's a thing to keep in mind folks, we came prepared on this one. Is that all we needed to address sir, I need to go burn a witch in Bound Rose. Whoops spoilers, shit finally goes down.**

 **SecretlySilentEvil: No, I think we're done here.**

 **Archer1eye: Good. So folks, remember, don't use a guest account to review. We don't bite, we tend to laugh instead, it's a friendly no hate environment.**

 **Both: Follow if you liked this, Favorite if you really liked this, and Review regardless if you did or did not enjoy this.**

 **Archer1eye: PS. We cut a lot of facepalms out of this AN.**

 **SecretlySilentEvil: I swear to god I think this thing is broken.**


	4. Whatever It Takes Part 1

The next few days Weiss never left the room, consumed by a lust for knowledge she hadn't known she possessed to such a degree. Ruby had to bring food to the girl in order to make sure she still ate. Weiss even fell asleep in the chair on multiple occasions, completely forgetting that she had a bed, or anything besides the archives for that matter.

It started to bug Ruby, as the ship was nearing their usual pit-stop between jobs, Menagerie, that Weiss probably wouldn't be awake in time to see the fleet come into view.

Ruby has tried every way she could think of to wake her up softly, but nothing has worked. And as the pirate looks down at her princess from her seat on the desk, she got to thinking. The princess, sleeping with no signs of awakening, and a name that bares an odd similarity to a fairy tale the captain's mother used to tell her.

' _Actually, that fits this situation too well… She won't wake up, and I need her to. Too bad I'm not a prince. Actually, what does it matter? Doing it anyway.'_ Hopping down from her seat on the canoe-like desk, she gently moves Weiss into a sitting up position in the chair mumbling, "Guess I'll have to wake you myself." The captain leans forward, and recreates the scene, pressing her lips to the princess'.

* * *

The night air was nice, especially in our canoe. The sky above a dazzling array of stars and the moon in all its glory shining down on my beautiful wife, entwining its silver light into her Crimson hair, and leaving a rosey color to her face I rarely get to see. "This is the life, no more hunts, no more death. Just you, me, the forest, and our canoe."

Her face lights up as she laughs, the moonlight adding to her radiance. "You and this boat. I swear Errant you are obsessed with being on the water. Why did you choose the forest and not the sea for our honeymoon?"

My own joy shines through at Holly's light teasing. "My dear, the boat would surely be flipped if we went to sea. We are far too active for it not to."

Holly's face becomes a clearer shade of crimson at my retort, until it starts to pale as a low rumble can be heard and the pond begins to ripple from the vibrations. "Errant we should go back home now, we've been lucky this long, but I don't want to deal with any Grimm."

I put a finger to her lips, silencing her fears as I stare in awe at her beauty, as I do every second of every day, not caring about the sound of the ground falling apart around us. "It's ok Holly, the area has been clear for the past few nights, let's enjoy it." As I remove my finger we both hear a whistling sound as an odd shape shoots into the heavens, piercing the very moon with its unholiness.

As the moon shatters, I feel the waters rise and the moon fall, the world falling into madness. Holly and I stare at each other before she breaks the silence. "Errant, even if you wake up, I will be here and I love you. I love you so much." Holly falls into tears as I struggle to move in the vacuum of chaos around me.

"Wake up Weiss. Wake up!"

I can't move, the void getting denser, my muscles tensing. I can't move no matter what I do. In my panic, Holly approaches me. "Guess I'll have to wake you myself."

I feel her lips touch mine and its usual shock of pleasure and peace comes to me, calming the entire world. I sink into the kiss as the world sinks around me.

* * *

Weiss felt lips on hers, thinking it still a part of the chaotic dream moments before, she let herself fall into it, until she felt an arm wrap around her. Blue eyes fly open to meet a closed eye, and eyemask bearing the ship's flag, complete with choppy red and black hair. Weiss jumps, falling backwards, chair and captain following suit.

Ruby was quick enough to roll mid air, so as to not squish Weiss upon impact. Weiss, however, was not quick enough, and her head whiplashed off the floor. She slammed her eyes shut and hissed out a pained breath.

"I really need to teach you how to use your aura more effectively…" The captain muttered, standing. She extended her hand out towards Weiss.

"Get away from me you dolt! That hurt like he- It hurt a lot." Weiss glares, slapping Ruby's hand away from her as she attempts to rise.

"Are you ok Weiss? You hit the ground kinda hard there." Weiss' heart softens under the concern for a second before freezing up at the suspicion she always gets from any kind deed.

"I'm fine! Now let me get back to my studies, this is all so fascinating." Weiss tries to sidestep Ruby who only acts as an obstacle between her and the pile of books.

"Nah, I don't think so Weissy. I've got something on deck for you to see."

The heiress rolls her eyes at the once intimidating pirate. "Oh, I'm sure you do."

The sarcasm in her tone strikes a nerve in Ruby, who immediately strikes back. "Fine Snow White, I'll let you stay cooped up in here to rot, not like you'd want to see Menagerie as it comes in to view."

"Wait what!? I thought that pirate den was destroyed over fifty years ago." Ruby internally laughed at how easy it was to lure the white haired girl in with the promise of new knowledge, but externally kept up her annoyed appearance.

' _You are so easy Weiss. It's almost sad how easy actually.'_ "Nope you don't care, guess you'll miss it." Weiss glares once more before trying to dart out the door and up to the deck to see just what Ruby is talking about, but the pirate blocks the way with a mischievous grin. "Man Weiss, looks like I found your weakness, huh?"

"Sh-shut it you! I'm not that bad…"

Ruby snickers unable to resist the taunt right in her face. "Coming from the girl who has read all of the archive twice, never walking away once beforehand. Uh-huh yeah sure, not bad at all…"

Weiss exhales realizing she may have been a bit of a problem. "Okay, so maybe a little, but can you blame me? I was raised knowing nothing. I wanted to understand but was never allowed anything."

"That's why I gave you those books, because I knew it'd open your sheltered brain. I'm a good judge of people believe it or not, and you Princess are a diamond in the rough. I'm just polishing you up so that you can one day blind that jackass of a douche you call a father."

"No I call him a tyrant. If you are doing this all to spit on him, then count me in." Weiss' eagerness shocks both girls, but not as much as when she leans in for another kiss. "And I know just the way to make sure we shove his overinflated ego down his self-righteous throat."

Ruby grins at the whispered comment knowing exactly what Weiss is hinting at. "I knew you'd come around eventually." Then the two kiss passionately, united against the world but knowing they can enjoy the moment.

After nearly a minute, Ruby breaks off to cover up in a bandana and a modified cloak that had layers of wool, tripling its weight compared to her usual one. "Well, let's go Princess, your new kingdom awaits…"

* * *

As Weiss walked out on deck, the first noticeable difference between Menagerie and the kingdoms was how frigid cold it truly was this far south. Sure, she had been given a coat by Ruby because of this, which was a fantastic white and silver, two of the princess' favorite colors. According to The Archive, aura and semblances have this weird secondary effect upon unlock. It's never really bad or good, depending on how you view it, just something odd. Ruby's semblance leaves behind a trail of rapidly disintegrating rose petals, and they'll randomly spawn when she's feeling particularly emotional. As they've just found out, Weiss' aura gives an attribute of minor immunity to the cold, hence why she wasn't complaining about the cold until now.

It still wasn't enough to ward off the cold she was feeling right now, as she was trying to compress herself in and keep herself warm, shivering all the while. Only difference between her and the rest of the crew, she didn't need gloves, two pairs of socks, or a bandana to keep her lungs from freezing in the extremely frigid outside air.

Apparently, the Crescent Rose had already docked. Weiss looked around with childlike wonder and glee, barely able to suppress her grin. Sure, the entire fleet looks worn down, pieces of splintered and shattered titanoak beams littered the immediate area around where they had docked. But the fleet emanated that feeling of safety and peace, and for once, not through superior firepower.

"Hey Weiss!" The aforementioned girl turns around to see Ruby, a small folded pile of coats in the captain's arms. "Come over here and pick one of these up, I wanna show you something."

Mentally shrugging, Weiss does what she's told, and picks up a stack of coats. When the captain starts walking without further instruction, she takes that as her cue to follow.

Silently following Ruby, and observing the interactions the girl has with practically every person who passes by. Not once were either of them treated with hate or distrust, only happiness, as if seeing an old friend for the first time in years.

"Ruby, I have a- no, two questions."

"Okay, shoot."

"When, or where, did you get these coats? I can't imagine you got them from any one of the fleets."

"We did a few raids before finally coming to get you, gathering necessary materials to craft them along the way. As it turns out, Coco is a rather good craftsman." Weiss merely hums, seemingly accepting that answer.

"Next question, why is Menagerie never mentioned in The Archive past the point in history it was supposedly destroyed?"

"Perhaps two thousand live here, Weiss. All of them under the protection of the… nicer… pirates. There are a few pirate crews that are no longer allowed here, such as the White Fang, and those crews don't know it exists anymore either. Now, imagine the outrage the outlawed pirates would have if a safe haven they didn't know about was out there? Imagine what Atlas would do to this place if they found out their earlier assault wasn't as effective as they thought it was? It would be a massacre. What if some infiltrator, or, god forbid, if the 'Rose was attacked and some raider were to come across The Archive? Not only would they know Menagerie still exists, but they'd also know it's location. Losing Menagerie would mean losing all that the pirates have worked towards over the years, not to mention the countless number of lives that would be lost with it."

"I also saw in The Archive, Menagerie has multiple names. What's that about?"

"Menagerie. Vytal. The Independence. Queen's Ground. All of it is the same, none of it treated differently. The first residential float down here to be christened was named the Independence, for the obvious reasons, being the first step towards any self-respecting pirate's dream. Menagerie and Vytal are just two alternating names for the fleet itself, no special significance there. Now, Queen's Ground… What do you remember from The Archive about the Queen?"

"Umm, the only mention of her was when Shade was in possession of the books, and that he was the Queen's personal bodyguard. There wasn't much more than that. Not even a mention of name in there."

"Yes, Shade wasn't the best care taker of The Archive… Remind me in the afterlife to knock some sense into my great great grandfather, will ya? So about twenty years after the flood slowed, the Queen rose into power. She united the fleets rather well, keeping relative peace. Though, it was only relative peace. Someone managed to take down both Shade and the Queen, and get away with it. No one saw him, and it was because of that that the second great war of the flood occurred. Vale blamed Atlas, Vacuo blamed Mistral, Mistral blamed Vale, Atlas… blamed pretty much everyone else. It wasn't pretty, as you no doubt found out in The Archive. While this was going on, the pirates took her body here, and laid her to rest, letting her name die off in the kingdoms. They did put a gravestone above the ice where she was buried, but it has weathered away with over one hundred years of nonstop snow and ice storms. But enough about this, we'll talk about it back on the ship. Our destination should be just over here."

As the red and white duo approach the surprisingly well kept building, Weiss noticed a sign hanging just above the door. It read:

 _ **Ms. Zenith's Orphanage**_

"An orphanage…?"

"Now, Weiss. Fair warning, don't be surprised if you are swarmed by a dozen little children, they will no doubt have questions."

"Wait, what?!"

With that Ruby kicks open the door, "Gwen! I come bearing gifts!" Both girls walk in the door, so as to preserve the heat that's in the building, and shut the door behind them. Ruby walks over to the nearby counter and sets down her stack of coats, and pulls down her bandana. Off in the distance, both of them can hear the excited shouts of "RUBY'S HERE! RUBY'S HERE!" as five little children come crashing down the stairs, three older looking children following soon after, though a bit more passively. Ruby crouches down and opens her arms out wide, as the five little ones crash straight into her, nearly knocking her over. The pirate squeezes back, just as happy to see them as they are to see her. As the other four are busy with Ruby, one of them strays from the pack, wandering over towards the ex-heiress with curiosity glistening in her light brown eyes. The little one, who looks to be the youngest of the bunch, probably around four, brushes back her short cropped hair of the same tan color of her eyes.

"W-who are you?" She asks, a little bit of hesitation in her voice. The question causes silence in the rowdy bunch that had swarmed Ruby, as the pirate separates herself from them and stands, preparing for introducing the princess to them.

"Kids, this is Weiss. Weiss, say hello to Ryan," she points to the child, a small boy around seven with brown hair and black eyes, "Selene," a small girl around nine, with blonde hair and dark blue eyes, "Lavender," a girl around six with coincidentally lavender colored hair and blue eyes, "Ceril," a dark brown haired boy with cerulean eyes, maybe around ten, "those older ones over there are Mara," a girl around fifteen waves hello, long deep red hair swishing about, "Draygen," a boy with light brown hair waves looking about fourteen, "Diana," another girl about fifteen, with the same deep red hair as Mara. Then Ruby turns toward the last unintroduced young'un with a slight mischievous grin.

The captain uses her semblance to pick the last one up and ruffle her hair, the little girl shrieking all the way, "and this little rascal is Sera."

"Rwuby! Put me down! You know I down't like it when you scarwe me like dat!" The youngest cries out, only to start laughing hard when Ruby starts tickling her.

"Hello," Weiss managed to say politely, all while stifling her laughter, and managing a curtsy. "I'm Ruby's current girlfriend, it's a pleasure to meet you all."

"My, what a civilized one you found Ruby. Where might she be from hmmmm?"

"Heh about that." Ruby casts a mischievous grin, thesame one that Weiss was getting very accustomed to seeing on the pirate's face. "Gwen this is Weiss, as in the heiress to Atlas who was supposed to get married in a month til this dashing rogue swooped in and rescued her-Weiss."

"Weiss, dear, be honest with me. Did our Ruby rescue you as she said or did she kidnap you like her previous relationships."

"She kidnapped me? Sort of? I mean I didn't struggle… much... and after a day or two began to enjoy myself. It's very liberating not having an overbearing father and his entire military around to dictate my life." Ruby grins at the joy pouring from Weiss at her declaration, although she catches something else in the heiress' words, her voice hitched as if doubting all this to be real.

Gwen burst out laughing. "I swear Ruby, you are your mother resurrected. The two of you are the only ones I've ever met who can actually make a prisoner learn to love piracy."

"Hey I'm not mom. I won't scream it in front of the kids but I know what no means, I even tell them no when they say yes-"

"I still don't understand that." Weiss mumbles loud enough for only Ruby to catch.

"You weren't ready Weiss, maybe your mind convinced you that you were but it would've hurt you... a lot. Between the cold and how tense you were and your inexperience, it would've been a mistake at that time."

"My, my, this sounds like a fun story for when the kids aren't around." Ruby and Weiss both blush being interrupted from their private discussion. "Now then, about those gifts."

"Oh yeaaaaaaah, Weiss and I each brought an armful of coats for the kids, see." Ruby gestures to the stack of white and brown coats with a wide-eyed Sera on top. Ruby picks up the small girl and puts her on the ground, before grabbing the coats and distributing them among the children. "Now, go play! We've got some discussion to do, leave, have fun, don't kill each other! Mara's in charge!"

"But Rwuby," Sera puts on a puppy dog face so adorable Weiss has to take a seat to remain upright. "I wants ta stay wit yooooou."

"Sorry Sera but we have adult things to discuss, so go play with your brothers and sisters, okay?" Ruby rubs the little girl's hair as Sera puffs out her lower lip even more. "No buts Sera. Go."

"Fiiiine." Sera heads out the door with Mara right behind her.

"Damn it, Ruby." The girl introduced as Mara mutters as she walks away, now cursed to watch all the others for the day.

"You know Sera does see you as a mother, right Ruby?"

"I know, and it honestly scares me. I'm a beacon for disaster and I refuse to draw those like her into my flame."

"Give it a year or two, maybe things will be suitable by then for you to adopt her."

Ruby shuffles nervously on her feet not having considered officially adopting Sera. "Maybe…"

Weiss jumps in, a look of amusement and hope shining in her eyes. "Does that mean I'll be her mother too?"

Ruby takes another step back, shocked by the heiress' declaration. "Wow Weiss, didn't know you planned to stay the long run."'

Weiss face quickly flushes with a red as deep as Ruby's cloak, not having thought her comment through. "No! I mean... I don't plan too, but as is, it's either you or suffering."

Ruby puts a hand over her heart in mock pain. "That hurts, Weiss. That really hurts."

"You're a pirate, you'll get over it." Weiss scoffed, waving off Ruby's act.

"Well, technically you are also a pirate now." Ruby casts Weiss a sheepish grin recalling earlier that day, which is returned with a death glare from the ice princess.

"My, you two are just too cute together. I hope you stick around Weiss, you seem perfect for our girl here. Although, Ruby never did date no troublesome people."

"Damn straight I don't. My ship would've burned down by now if I did." Ruby pokes her head out the window, taking note of the shadows cast by the sun. "Speaking of troublesome, should probably get these extras to the shop before it closes, and you sweetheart, need new clothes. As much as I may enjoy it, you can't wear my stuff forever. You also need a weapon, and no that metal stick you call a rapier is not a weapon." Ruby grabs Weiss, dragging her out the door while also throwing the rest of the coats over her shoulder to deliver to her preferred clothes shop so that they had some new wares to profit from.

* * *

"How does this place keep stocked…?" Weiss asks, in awe at the nearly fully stocked market surrounding her. The boat they had walked onto was fully altered into an open market full of food and clothes vendors.

Ruby smiles at her newest girlfriend's wonder at the sight of a truly free community. "Weiss, it has been nearly nineteen years since the hunts ended. You can't have expected that no other ships would spring up in that time. Most of what is down here is stolen, admittedly. Any farms that could be here, beside the small titanoak orchard, wouldn't function unless we found a good supply of Sunlight dust. Anyhow, quit staring we have to get you clothes and maybe something to protect yourself with."

Ruby drags Weiss through multiple areas divided based on the wares being sold until she found her favorite store. "Alrighty Princess, here is our stop, 'The Cloak and Dagger.'"

"Why do I not feel surprised…" Weiss attempts to hide her head in shame at the store that matches the pirate beside her too perfectly.

Ruby ignores Weiss' horror and shouts in, "Hey Raze, got a shipment of coats, willing to trade for some new clothes?"

A giant of a man over six feet tall steps out of the ship's interior to look at Ruby, his face nearly hidden behind an all encompassing red beard. Weiss can only tell by his eyes that he is happy to see Ruby. "Ah girly, ya made it. What can I do for ya lassie?"

Weiss is taken aback by his welcoming voice that doesn't seem to match his menacing appearance.

"I need some clothes, preferably blue for this one here." Ruby yanks Weiss over to her so that Raze can give her a once over before going in and grabbing something.

"Can do lassie. Also why'd you get another one, that last one you dated was trouble. I'd rather not see ya go down that road again." After Raze's disconcerting words he heads in to search for an outfit and possible weapon for Weiss.

"Who exactly was it you dated last?" Weiss asks, not bothering to hide her fear or annoyance.

"Huh? Oh yeah her… Nobody to worry about, it wasn't even close to genuine feelings of caring let alone love. She used me and I used her, it worked at the time but I decided I was tired of being played for. That and I got what I needed."

"What does that make me then huh? Just another tool like this other woman was?" Weiss asks full of anger which only causes Ruby to laugh in her face, enraging her more.

"You, a tool?! That's a good one! No Weiss. As it stands, you outlived your use the day after I kidnapped you. I'm keeping you around because… Oh, I don't fucking know, you are fun to be around and I can tell your whole world has been flipped upside down?. I know what that is like and I couldn't just leave you stranded at sea like that but I couldn't send you back to your old life either, that'd be worse than nothing." Ruby's voice began rising with a fury that was directed at the world and its cruelty as her eye clouded a bit before she blinked them clear. "Anyways, let's get your clothes and hope Raze gets a weapon for you too. Aurasteel in these parts is near impossible to come by." The random switch in mood leaves Weiss a bit shocked, but she is interrupted.

As if on cue, Raze exits the building with an armful of whites and blue as he goes to address Weiss. "Okay missy, go try these on and tell me what ya like. Ruby and I will talk business while you spoil yourself."

Weiss nods, too stunned to do anything else as she walks into the room Raze had left, noticing a dressing area off to the side. ' _May as well be civil I guess.'_

Weiss goes through the pile looking for something different that would appear rather masculine on her, wanting to throw away her past as the perfect _daughter_ to the Fleet Admiral of Atlas. ' _What am I even doing right now. Am I truly willing to throw that all away to live and suffer as these people do? And Ruby, what is her game? What is she after that brings that look of anger into her eye? I don't know if I can do this, but I'd rather learn the truth than be kept in the dark, may as well try this out I guess.'_

Ruby slips in unnoticed to watch the heiress as she gets lost in her thoughts. "Dayumn Weiss, lookin good." Ruby lets out a growl of approval as Weiss finishes dressing in her new outfit, a long sleeved light blue shirt with a white vest overtop and her coat over top of it. Her matching white jeans held on by a crimson belt hug her body rather snugly giving Ruby an enjoyable sight.

"Gah! Ruby! What are you doing here?! Can't you see I'm getting dressed?!" Weiss turns around red in the face, still not recovered from their argument earlier.

"Please, I've seen you practically naked already, what's the harm in watching. Besides I knew you'd have finished up by now and I wanted to do some weapons shopping before we head back to the orphanage for the night." Ruby shrugs off Weiss' ire and continues to drag the girl around the store as they try different weapons out.

Weiss' attempt to attack Ruby each time she was handed a weapon was rather comical as Ruby took notes of how she handled most of them like a natural. _That_ impressed the captain most. After going through most of the different types of regular swords and Weiss' anger had visibly dissipated from the constant onslaught she pressed on Ruby, the two decided that a rapier would work best for the girl.

"You are way too precise for anything else, and how clenched up your nerves are means proper stance would be better for you since discipline is easier for you than violent outbursts." Ruby says as she puts the practice weapons away and smiles at Weiss' calmed down and sweaty appearance. "Come on hot stuff, we need to see if Raze has any aura steel laying loose to make you a good weapon."

As the pair walk out side by side they notice a certain girl running at them. "Ruby, we've got trouble!"

"Mara!? What are you doing here, and where are the others!? What's going on?" Ruby runs over, forgetting everything but the safety of the fleet and it's children.

"Sera saw a boat coming in near the orphanage and pointed it out to me. I couldn't tell whose it was because it was to far out but something in my gut told me to get you."

"Good girl. Where are the others now."

"I-I panicked, I had Diana take them to the other side of the fleet, over in the Queen's Garden."

"It's okay, don't worry, if it's another raid I'll stop it this time, and Mara," Ruby goes to hug the nervous wreck in front of her. "It won't happen again, you did what you had to. Now go regroup with the rest of them and stay there until I come by to get you."

Ruby then let's go to storm off in the direction of the orphanage. "Ruby, what's going on?"

"Right now, it's captain, and what happened was, some mutt has been sniffin' my ass."

* * *

 **AN: Archer1eye: Well, the Whiterose is officially blooming. Although this one has a lot more thorns than usual. Also, Sera Was Never…**

 **SecretlySilentEvil: Those that get that, don't say anything and just laugh at those who don't. (This is why my Username is SecretlySilentEvil)**

 **Archer1eye: Oh come on, you need to keep the reference going. Just say "what."**

 **SecretlySilentEvil: "Why change the past when you could own this day!"**

 **Archer1eye: If you are gonna sing the song do it auf Deutsch. "Die vergangenheit ist tot also nutze den tag." (I had to turn spellcheck off to write that lol)**

 **SecretlySilentEvil: Damnit you beat me to finding the German lyrics.**

 **Moving on:**

 **Since Archer admits he can only write good and his normal spoken word choice is the worst possible outcome, allow me to say, we're gonna adopt sangheilitat117's policy when it comes to guest reviews. Which states:**

 **"If you leave a guest review on one of my stories and it's pure criticism without any suggestions on how to fix/improve things and I have no way to respond to you, it's probably gonna get deleted."**

 **Archer1eye: To those lurking fans of Bound Rose, I didn't mean to imply that I was outright banning guest reviews. Just filtered, and read thoroughly and then debated before uploading. I apologize for the confusion. I clarified this in the AN over there as well.**

 **SecretlySilentEvil: My new favorite character is definitely Sera. She's so cute~!**

 **Archer1eye: That's only because she isn't putting an arrow to your face and saying no pricks yet, and I still have Weiss as number one. Easiest for me to connect to and that bs, along with most clear cut character development route. That's easy to appreciate.**

 **SecretlySilentEvil: But Sera's so cuuuute~!**

 **Archer1eye: Arrows sting like a dragon sir. You haven't had her arrows slaying dragons while hopped up on Ruby juice.**

 **SecretlySilentEvil: And with that possible sex joke that broke Archer, as he's currently doubled over laughing at four in the morning because we write like the champions of old. I have to say the outro by myself. God this is so awkward.**

 **Follow if you liked this, Favorite if you really liked this, and- just, just do the thing, I can't. I have internet-based stage fright.**

 **Archer1eye: Review is what he (chuckles a bit, still trying to calm down) wants to say, we enjoy them usually, although, spare Evil the hate storms, let my stupidity soak them up.**

 **SecretlySilentEvil: What are you implying there…?**

 **Archer1eye: *Whispers to the audience* He tends to rant, it's quite annoying.**

 **SecretlySilentEvil: You realize I can still read that… right?**

 **Archer1eye: Lucky you. Anyhow, the hate should be saved for Bound Rose because I will deserve it over there. This story deserves love and laughter.**


	5. Whatever It Takes Part 2

Weiss is normally not one prone to rage. Mild annoyance, sure, but never would she drop all inhibitions and fight her own nation. Her own place of birth. The very fleet she grew up on.

While her experiences on Atlas were not entirely great, they weren't awful. And by no means would she attack and possibly kill another Atlesian. The place she grew up would _always_ hold a special place in her heart.

She had taken up Ruby's offer to join the 'Rose because it meant freedom, getting away from her overbearing father and the omnipresent military force keeping her from knowing too much. This new life aboard the pirate's vessel would also mean messing with her father's head, something she always wanted to do. And one final benefit being she'd be able to learn, to discover the world around them, although a feeling of guilt had begun to sink into her gut at abandoning her sister to that other fate.

But not once had she thought she'd wind up fighting another Atlesian in a situation like this.

As soon as Ruby heard about the possible threat to the children, she had handed Weiss her scimitar, said "You'll need this," flipped up her hood, and ran off. The princess could only assume she ran off to wherever the Queen's Garden would be. Unsure what to do, she ran in the direction of where they had docked.

Weiss burst through the crowds of panicked people to see the last thing she thought she'd ever see. A large titanoak brig, large enough to hold roughly a hundred soldiers, and the forward ram embedded in the side of the fleet. Near the top of one of the two masts, a flag very familiar to Weiss sat, staring down upon her with all of its fury. An _Atlesian_ flag.

That was when it all clicked in the ex-heiress' head. Seeing a man clad in a full Atlas uniform, somehow outfitted to last him in the cold, strike down one of the innocents of Menagerie.

Weiss shot forward using a glyph, and managed to block the man's sword from striking down another. Not used to the glyphs yet, she stumbles slightly, but retains her balance.

"What the...?!" The man barks, clearly thrown off by his sword halting in place, and the nearly random appearance of this oddly familiar girl. "Hey, aren't you the missi-" Weiss swiftly halts that train of thought with an elbow to the man's face, sending him reeling away.

"No I'm not the 'missing heiress' I'm the 'traitorous bitch.' Get your facts right." The soldier rises, charging at her in a blind fury, his nose broken and bleeding. "Or not." Weiss quickly back pedals hoping not to resort to further violence, but as he continues the assault she has no choice. Using what little knowledge she has on fighting, especially with a weapon like this, Weiss lunges forward, blade held high, but quickly regrets it as the weight does not cooperate with her.

The man, just as inexperienced as her tries to go for her now open side, only to get beat back by a wooden plank, knocking him unconscious.

* * *

Ruby could hear fighting off in the distance, could smell the blood of fallen comrades and enemies, and the burning of buildings. What she didn't sense was an odor of burning flesh or the sounds of children screaming. With that in mind, Ruby handed Weiss her scimitar for protection, deciding that her staff and wristblade would be enough, and ran off to fade away before climbing the nearest ship's mast to survey the situation.

Off in the distance Ruby could pinpoint one ship that didn't belong over by the orphanage. Noticing Weiss heading that way, Ruby decided to follow and watch the heiress at work. ' _I'm beginning to feel bad at how many times I've destroyed her perception of reality. Oh well, she's bouncing back quickly.'_

Ruby noticed an Atlesian officer go to confront Weiss head on and the heiress' shriek brought a smile to Ruby's face. "Knew it." The shriek also seemed to draw the attention of nearby officers who had spread out to burn more of the fleet.

Unknown to the raiders or Weiss, Ruby descended into the alleyway behind the men. Without a sound, Ruby went to work unfolding her staff in a whip like fashion with enough force to crack a skull, leaving her first victim down without knowing.

The second one turned in horror at his friend's shattered head only to be greeted with a red-cloaked shade descending on him hand outstretched. As he went to guard with his sword, the specter twirled in a flurry of roses shattering his sword, along with his hand, before continuing her original descent into his throat, cutting the jugular with medical precision.

Ruby glances around, quickly reanalyzing her surroundings before remembering Weiss was there. "Heya Weiss, next time, slash don't stab." Slamming her pole down and through the unconscious but not yet dead soldier's skull, Ruby leaps into the air.

"What am I getting involved with?" As Weiss mumbles her confusion, she hears the whisper of a sob on the wind. ' _Great, I'm going insane now too.'_

* * *

"Come on guys, we need to hurry." The children were all running towards their secret fort, a crack in the ice at the Queen's Garden. The garden itself is the center point of Menagerie. The glacier holds a centuries worth of sculptures and carvings. The artwork preserved in the frigid cold all encircles a single, faded Mausoleum, the resting place of the one known as the Queen.

As they reached the mausoleum, Sera began to freak out uncontrollably. "But, Rwuby, where is sheeeee?"

"Shhhh Sera, it'll be ok, Ruby is out there keeping the bad men back, they can't hit her if they tried." Diana reached forward to try and hold the little girl but was slapped away.

"I don'ts believes you, Rwuby should be here!" Sera's terrified tantrum began unnerving Diana as she began having flashbacks of how she met Ruby and doom she collapsed to the ground in tears as nothingness took over her sight.

* * *

Fire and blood, her parents bodies falling to the ground lifeless before her and Mara as four men in white approached, evil lust filled grins at the two little girls. "What have we here now? New toys it seems."

Stunned in fear, the two sisters didn't even flinch as the men began groping them and removing clothes, until Diana let loose a wild scream that could be heard from the other end of the tiny fleet her parents had joined with.

"That's it, scream girly. It makes this so much more enjoyable, don't it boys?" The men began laughing and hurrying to remove their over buttoned uniforms, only to begin spraying blood from random slits on their bodies and flower petals floating around them.

"Hmmm, what's more fun, deflowering a child or deflowering a rapist?" The men had no time to answer as a red shade materialized in a flurry of bloodstained petals between both girls, wicked grin on her face. "I personally think pricks are too prickly... A deflowered rapist is far more enjoyable." At the end of her sentence, the shade lashed out with her wrist, grabbed on to them one at a time between the legs until a click and a scream could be heard. "Yeah, being penetrated the first time sucks, don't worry though…" Mara and Dianna watch the shade lean into the second one who had led the men into the house. "I wouldn't want you to remember it."

In a flurry of roses, each man had several new holes appear before also falling lifeless to the floor.

* * *

Mara ran through the ships trying to meet up with her siblings, but the mob that was heading towards the inn was heading her away from the Queen's Grounds. ' _I don't want to test my luck a second time. I'm certainly not going to depend on Ruby forever.'_

Trying to remain calm as flashbacks wash over her of that night four years ago, Mara begins to falter in her sprint until she gets swept up by the mob and dragged away towards the flames. ' _Shit shit shit, make it all go away!' "_ MAKE IT GO AWAY!" Unaware that she was crying out loud as the nightmares took her, Mara curled up. Somehow, she wasn't trampled as the mob passed and tears began flowing anew. "I miss them so much."

Mara was so lost in her panic attack she didn't notice the Atlesian officer descend upon her with hate filled eyes. "You won't miss them much longer girly…."

Mara didn't even flinch as the blade swung down on her, nor the sound of which she never heard before. A blast of fire scorched the sword from the man's untrained hand. "Oh ho ho, you made a multitude of mistakes old boy. One, you attacked my homeland. Two you attacked my friend. Three you dared follow me here! Four you are still breathing."

Finally coming to, Mara looked up to see a red crystal fading from Ruby's hand and her staff currently collapsing the man's throat.

"Choke on it you bastard. I saw that look in your eyes. I figure you should choke on a rod instead." As the man's eyes glazed over and his body went limp, Ruby turned to Mara with a stern look. "Deja vu huh? Why aren't you with the others yet Mara, hurry up and get going. I hate meeting like this you know."

Unsure how to respond to the almost motherly scolding from someone who seconds ago was choking a man to death, Mara merely nodded before running off. "Good girl, now then, back to the hunt!"

* * *

Diana snapped back to reality minutes later to Sera trying to pull her towards the ice caverns. "DeeDee, we gots ta goooo."

"Yeah, yeah we do. I'm right behind you Sera, let's go." Grabbing the younger girl, they slipped into the crevice leading to the children's labyrinth, a series of crevices within the glacier on which the garden sat. The kids of Menagerie had eventually found their way into them and excavated an underground fort that only they were short enough to enter. After sliding for several seconds at fast speeds with a few near misses, they came to a stop beside the other kids huddled in around a chunk of ice that acted as a table.

"DeeDee, Mara isn't here yet."

' _Shit, where did that girl run off to?'_ Inside Diana was raging at her sister while outside all anybody could tell was that she was worried over her sister. "I'll go get her Sera, she probably got lost again."

"You should wait a bit Diana, she might just be a little slow." Draygen reached out to comfort his friend but he noticed her eyes seem to dull out as she went to run back to the surface.

"No, I have to find her. I can't have that happen again. Have to find her." Diana began mumbling to herself as she kept trying to suppress the memories that seemed to have come back with a vengeance.

* * *

As the final man fell, the Shade turned towards Mara and herself, a look of pure innocence on her face. "I've got to get you two out of here." Diana couldn't tell why she felt safe around the newcomer, but some reason she didn't feel the pure evil that had seconds before splattered guts everywhere.

Nodding their agreement, the two girls dutifully began to follow the shade as she led them away from the fire, towards a ship with a rose on the main sail. "You will be safe on board the Crescent Rose, trust me. Okay?" Feeling safe after the sudden disaster struck, the girls nodded before running towards the ship only for two men to intercept them. "FUCKERS!"

The men looked towards the curse only to see a flash of red before their arms went flying. In complete shock and unaware of the sudden loss of their limbs, they kept moving, only to drop dead seconds later as everything sank in. "Better… Come on, hurry!"

* * *

As if in sync with her memories, Mara began picking up the pace to get back to the other kids. Halfway there however, she spotted red hair off in the distance and fearing that her sister was off searching for her in worry, turned around to intercept her.

Mara could only guess where her sister would go, but figured that the orphanage was a safe bet. As such, she began heading there. With most of Menagerie by this point either indoors or in the mob, it was easy enough to reach. However, the sight there was enough to break her heart a second time that day.

She immediately stopped when the orphanage came into sight. Four men were standing outside with torches at the ready. "All good in there?" She could hear the largest of them yell into the building, which was answered with six men exiting with the clothes Ruby had just recently brought and a partially nude but still conscious Gwendolyn. "Alright let's light this bitch up!"

The evil grins had Mara wanting to scream but she knew better. Unfortunately, her sister had less control as she ran out with an apparently discarded sword and tried attacking the men. They at first didn't notice the young girl attacking but as the brute who called the shots had a sword stick out of his chest, they immediately went into action.

"You little bitch, you're going to pay for killing our friend!" Mara watched in horror as Diana tried to defend herself but the nine remaining men simply flicked her sword away before surrounding her like a horde of starving dogs. Mara saw them each repeatedly punch and kick but never could make out the image of her sister in the middle of the gang.

"Please Oum no…" Mara's prayer went unanswered as the group dispersed for her sister's body to fall lifeless next to the limp body of Gwen. "Please no. Make it stop!"

Her shriek lit something inside of her ablaze but it wasn't enough to get her moving at the sight before her. Between the bodies and the now approaching group of monsters.

* * *

"Make it stop!" Weiss heard a shriek from up ahead, having been preoccupied by two other soldiers, still conflicted, the heiress tried to talk to them but all they seemed to care about was their wounded egos. ' _Maybe they were a mutinous bunch. I hope so at least, but why would they follow us to their deaths like idiots.'_

Weiss followed the scream to its source only to see one of the twins from earlier glowing a blood red as nine men descended upon her with lecherous grins on their faces. ' _I will not let this stand!'_

Weiss flicked out her wrist launching a solid glyph to hold the men at bay as she approached. "Gentlemen, this is a public area." Trying to mimic Ruby's psychotic attitude assuming it helps with unnerving her enemies Weiss continued to strut forward at her trapped prey, hiding the exhaustion at holding the glyph so long. "Care to share with me what's going on? I'm sure father would be so pleased to hear about his men attacking his kidnapped daughter…"

One of the men's faces twitched at the mention of Weiss' father before spitting at her. "That man is a coward and unfit to lead. We could kill them all had we the men, but that bastard said nobody would assist in our job."

The glyph began faltering as Weiss processed what the man was saying. She couldn't make heads or tails of his position in terms of working for her father so she tried to press him more. Using her semblance to another degree - and nearly fainting in the process - Weiss dropped the temperature even more around them and began to have it rotate, tightening its hold on the men inside.

Ruby, had been running towards the screaming from Mara, but had been distracted by a few Atlesians that had gotten a bit too close to the garden for her liking. Leaping off another nearby building again, she slipped beside Weiss grabbing her scimitar. "While I'm enjoying this show Weiss, you won't get anything else from them. Let me show you how to enjoy a hunt."

Weiss grimaced as Ruby leapt at the very center of the glyph with scimitar in hand a sadistic grin in place. "Who wants to die first." Sniffing the air, Ruby turned to the man beside her. "Gross dude, for that you die last." Swinging the sword about, Ruby severed one man's head as she went to attach it to her staff. "There are rules on this fleet. One, don't kill my friends. Two, don't kill that one's sister. And most importantly of all, you don't spit on Weiss. You broke them all, prepare to die."

Weiss and everybody else closed their eyes as they heard the sounds of bones being severed mixed with Ruby giggling here and there. "Ahh feels good to swing my sweetheart around a bit. Didn't get to dance all that much on the last raid!"

' _What is happening to that girl? Is this what she meant in her journal entries by her work face? I hope it's just that…'_ Weiss decided to open her eyes at the sight. Ruby stood surrounded by barely recognizable mounds of flesh.. The girl somehow managed to only get blood on her arms and at that very little. "What did you do?! Don't you want answers?!"

Ruby stands up shaking herself off not smelling anymore threats in the air. "I do but these guys were merely thugs, pawns in a higher plan. Atlas hasn't gone this far in ages, I'd be surprised if these guys were still officers by the time they felt the cold nip their tits. Besides I have Blake solving the riddle for me. That's what spies are for after all."

"Isn't admitting that that's her job a dumb idea? And how do you know they are goons?"

"You've read the archives, you read how the old pirate hunts went, raids and torture, betrayal and trickery. Nobody was safe, and the worst were set loose on mankind out of panic. Criminals were pardoned just to hunt my grandmother down. Evil was set free and now that pirates appear gone, the kingdoms realize their folly and are trying to bring in those bandits and any new ones to join up."

"So you wish to hunt those that hunted your ancestors?"

"No, I'm hunting those that hunted my mother. The criminals I'll kill all the same, help clear a path."

"Fair enough. So why are you calm all of a sudden?" Weiss sighed, submitting to her current superior's wisdom, relief filling her at the hopes that Atlas isn't totally damned.

"Well-" one of her ears twitch, "no…" And Ruby disappears, rose petals floating to the ground in her wake.

Weiss goes to scoop up the petrified form of Mara who had yet to move from her panic attack. "Come on, Mara was it? We have to go find that girl. Within moments of Mara's body moving like a lifeless corpse, the girl awoke to Weiss' smiling face and a blood curdling howl that pierced the frigid air.

"Ruby…" Running off, the two saw Ruby snatch a crossbow from one of many lifeless bodies scattered about the fleet and start to aim off the side of the ship. With a few seconds of careful aiming, the bolt fires. Weiss followed its trajectory with her eyes, only to see a bird mid flight. ' _That better not be what I think it is…'_ Weiss' thoughts scatter as she watches the bolt get closer and closer to its target.

The bolt misses by a narrow margin, causing the bird to screech loudly and begin flying sporadically, attempting to avoid anything that may or may not be coming.

Growling in frustration, Ruby tosses the crossbow behind her, as if it were a useless piece of garbage. ' _This is bad, I definitely saw something on that bird.'_

Aboard the nearby Atlesian vessel, Blake emerges, pushing forward a rope bound first mate. Ruby turns, hearing the door of the captain's office open, only to smirk sadisticly. Walking up to the man, her forgotten scimitar still lying nearby, she clicks open her wrist blade and rests it against his neck, not quite puncturing the skin.

"What was on that messenger bird?" The man scoffs, blows some hair out of his face, and doesn't respond. Ruby kicks him in the shin, "tell me!"

"Why, I'm dead anyways." Ruby smirks a bit wider, and retracts her wrist blade.

"Blake, would you please?" With that, the cat faunus dissolves. "You don't want to know what I told her to go grab, so why don't you tell me what that message was before she gets back? Hmm?"

"Some sort of torture device? Pssht, seen worse."

"You know, you don't die until I let you die right? And no, torture is much too tame." He gulps a little, clearly coming close to breaking.

"Y-You'll get tired of me anyways, I can still keep it secret."

Ruby sighs, "Blake?" The aforementioned cat faunus appears with a cloth wrapped… something…

"Thank you." Ruby takes it and slowly begins unwrapping it, taking her time with each clip and layer.

Weiss casually enters at this time, appearing intrigued by what is unfolding but inside she is a wreck, hearing that these men appeared to have had a directive.

"I-I-It was a-a message t-to Atlas, i-it had c-coordin-inates and the l-loca-ation of this f-fleet a-and the a-admira-ral said, if we s-saw h-her we wer-were to ki-kill th-the traitor."

Ruby notices Weiss pale at the words as she relives the horrors of mere minutes ago before her eyes relight with a blazing fury and certainty. ' _It seems life chose for me yet again. Oh well, this time I am where it counts.'_

"Now was that so hard?" Ruby clicks her wristblade again and forces the blade into his jugular with her semblance, clearly fed up. The captain sighs, and looks around. There is a _lot_ to repair.

"Oh shit," she mutters, the information finally seeping in. "Shit. Now I've gotta…" With a sigh, the captain flips up her hood and walks off. "Blake, we've got to prepare, the war is here, contact the White Fang for me. This fleet is no longer safe."

"I'm coming too!" Ruby smiles at Weiss' declaration and the fire in her eyes.

"Knew you would, welcome aboard officially, Princess." Ruby takes one look back at the gathered crowd, and meets the eyes of one severely saddened redhead. Her eyes soften, and she strides towards Mara. Ruby leans into the girl, hugging her and dropping her voice to a whisper, "you wanna know something? One of the reasons I have this plan is for avenging my mother. A lot of this probably wouldn't have happened if it weren't for what happened then, and if you want to blame me for all this, for your sister's death, I won't stop you."

"I can't blame you, it's not your fault she's dead. It's those damned Atlas bastards who raided us' fault." Mara sniffs, wipes her face quickly with her sleeve, and pulls out of the hug to meet Ruby's gaze, determination in the fifteen year old's eyes, "Ruby, I want to join you, I want to be a pirate."

"Welcome aboard to you too then, Mara Letokori."

* * *

 **AN:**

 **Archer: This took too long to come out… Sorry folks.**

 **Secret: We'll try and get Chapter 6 out as soon as we can. Two months was too long for one chapter.**

 **Archer: yes two months was too long but hey life, and chaos, got in the way.**

 **Secret: and heat waves. Actually, speaking of Chaos, we've been invited to another collab that will be coming out in about a week from Saturday. Keep an eye out for that.**

 **Archer: Yep some people thought it'd be a good idea to send our crazy asses off to an even larger group, currently seven people, including ourselves. It's awesome!**

 **Secret: We'll post an update when it comes out, and where to find it when the time comes.**

 **Archer: No, you will post an update chapter, not my forte to do that.**

 **Both: Anyhow, follow if you liked this, favorite if you really liked it, and review regardless. 'Til next time, bye!  
**


	6. Rework Notice

This was posted a few days ago, but I don't think it went through the system. Reuploaded notice.

* * *

Hey guys, Secret here. Been a while, hasn't it? Little over a year, in fact.

Archer and I have come to the conclusion that this story needs a lot of love. It's been too long since we last worked on this story, and much of what we wrote down, has been decided superfluous to the original goal of the story.

I have marked this with a complete stamp, and when our other stories are finished, we will be able to return to this, probably under a new name.

For the mean time, and since I'm really not sure how long it will be until the next time these pirates see any action, I recommend you go read our prides and joys; Archer1eye's Souls Entwined, and my Ruby, Mother of Wolves.


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